CHAPTER SIX

SUCKING UP

"I hate cooking," Kim whined, throwing herself on the chair closest to the window. Everyone had moved to the living room.

"Must suck to be you," Jade mocked. Her and Deidara had really hit it off and became fast-friends through their mutual love and respect for art. They were sitting next to each other on the sofa to continue their discussion. Nagato and Konan were sitting next to them. Kakashi sat on the ottoman near Kim's chair hunched forward reading an orange book that he pulled out of his pouch. Hana took the other chair. Sakura and Hinata sat crossed legged on the floor in front of Naruto, who had moved the coffee table, and was spread out starfish-style on the floor.

Itachi was on the floor with one knee bent up, leaning against the chair that Kim was sitting on while Sasuke was on the other side, his spiky hair just barely brushing her leg every time he moved. She was a little weirded out by that. They were always around her, not that she minded, it was just strange. Even as cats they were always near. She didn't know if she should say something or not. She didn't want to come off as rude, but wasn't it rude to follow someone.

"Kim, are you okay?" Jade had noticed her friend looked a bit troubled. She didn't know what was bothering her, but she was going to find out.

"What," she snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look like something is bothering you," Sakura added in. She had also seen the conflicted look on the ebony haired girl's face.

"Is it that obvious," Kim questioned, her cheeks taking on a light pink dusting.

"J-just a bit," Hinata added in shyly, poking her fingers together.

"Is it girl problems?" Hana being blunt as ever questioned. All the girls snapped their heads to face Hana. The guys just shifted awkwardly, save for Kakashi who was too absorbed in his book. Kim and Hinata's faces turned a bright shade of pink.

"Hana, not in front of the guys," Sakura chided.

"What! It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's a fact of life," Hana defended herself with a nonchalant shrug.

"She does have a point," Konan agreed with the Inuzuka.

"Exactly!" Hana exclaimed. The boys, who were actually paying attention, were looking on with interest.

"Hey! How did we get to this? That's not what's bothering me." The guys sighed in relief. Relief, because they weren't going to have to sit through a talk about girl problems. "I was just wondering why Itachi and Sasuke follow me around all the time-" she cut herself off. She couldn't believe she had said that out loud. She covered her mouth with her hands, and tried to make herself as small as possible.

That caught everyone's interest. Kakashi lowered his book, and took a look at the two brothers. They were both rigid. They didn't even realize that they were sticking to Kim's side.

"Hey, Teme! Do you have a crush? Is the big Teme in love," Naruto teased, making kissy faces at Sasuke. Sakura liked Kim, but that didn't mean she couldn't be a little miffed at the thought of Sasuke liking her.

"Hn."

"Damn it, Sasuke! Answer me!" Naruto shouted, jumping up onto his feet. He started to push back his sleeves, in a sign that he was ready for a fight. Sasuke sat up a little straighter, but before Naruto could make a move, Sakura was already standing behind him.

"Naruto," she growled. He stood straight as a rod. He turned around slowly.

"S-Sakura-chan!" He shouted with his arms stretched out wide. She was about to hit him, but decided not to. She just narrowed her eyes and took a seat on the unclaimed ottoman, with her arms crossed.

"So... Itachi. You have a crush on Kim," Nagato questioned, joining the conversation for the first time. Everyone stared between the two. Itachi turned a blank stare on him.

"No, I do not," he said calmly.

"Then why," Kim questioned, directing her question to the two brothers. The two shared a look, and came to a silent agreement. They would tell her. They only hoped that she wouldn't freak out.

"It's because when we were younger we always wanted a sister-" Itachi started.

"We used to sit around and imagine what she would be like-" Sasuke picked up.

"She would have looked exactly like you, with a slight resemblance to our mother-"

"And acted just like you," Sasuke finished.

Kakashi smirked there, remembering what had happened in the bathroom. He also had to fight to keep from laughing when the unbidden memory of a few nights ago popped into his mind. The girl had unknowingly serenaded him asking him to, "reach out and touch me," while wearing nothing but her underwear and a loose green tank top. The Uchiha would be horrified.

"I hope we haven't frightened you," Itachi added as an afterthought. Everyone was stunned. Half because of their reasoning and half because they actually spoke more than a single word. The girls couldn't help but sigh at their explanation; they thought it was the cutest thing in the world.

Kim was shocked. She didn't know what to say. She took a few moments to think about what they said. Thinking about what they had said, she couldn't help but feel flattered. Never had she ever had someone dream of having her as a sister. As a child growing up she had always imagined what it would be like to have an older or younger sibling. Maybe this would be her chance to get what she's always dreamed of. A huge smile spread across her face. She looked at the two brothers beaming.

"I would be honored to be your sister," she exclaimed, jumping up. She leaned down and engulfed Itachi in a hug, and then she went over to Sasuke and did the same to him. Light barely there blushes covered the two brothers' faces, but she didn't care she was just happy someone wanted to be around her. She stepped back and looked Sasuke up and down, and looked at him with a face of utmost seriousness. "Sasuke, as your new sister, I have something important to tell you. That outfit makes you look fat. I can deal with the chicken-ass hair, but that butt-bow has got to go. What's with that shirt? What are you a pirate?" At that everyone was laughing at Sasuke's expense.

"Hey! You know what? How did the zombies die? No one ever told us," Jade's voice broke through. She sent the youngest Uchiha a wink.

"I can tell you, 'ttebayo!" Naruto jumped up. "You see, Deidara blew himself up trying and failing to kill Sasuke." Kim glared at the other blonde. Jade laughed and muttered 'dumbass'. "After Sasuke and Itachi had an epic battle, Itachi died." Jade stared at the brothers. Kim gave Sasuke a look to which the boy just shrugged. "And Nagato died using up the last of his chakra to bring all the dead people in the village, including Kakashi-sensei, back to life. He was awesome, dattebayo!" Kim and Jade both sent smiles in Nagato's direction.

After all that was over, and Deidara and Jade stopped arguing about her comment, Kim tried to get someone to help her cook her father dinner. Even her new brothers didn't want to help her. Though on the bright side she had managed to get Hana and Hinata to agree to help. They cooked breaded pork chops, with sides of mashed potatoes and a simp,e garden salad. She even made one of the guys run out to the store with Jade to buy a case of beer.

When Ren got home, he was instantly suspicious. Jade flat out refused to cook, only cooking when she felt like it, and Kim, his daughter, hated cooking with a passion. The only time she cooked was when she wanted, broke, or did something. The only question was which one was it. He sat down at the table and stared at the two girls. They seemed to be a bit jumpy, like they were hiding something. Every time he looked at them they would avoid his gaze. Suspicious.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura felt a sense of deja-vu.

"Okay. I'll cut to the chase. What did you do?" Ren questioned. Kim was playing with her hair, and Jade was messing with a loose thread on her shirt.

"Dad, you're looking good tonight," Jade said nervously.

"Jade you freak! Don't flirt with my dad!"

"I wasn't flirting, and besides he isn't that bad looking for an old dude."

Ren made a face, he was not that old. He's only 36.

"Jade!"

"Sorry! I don't do good under pressure! When are we going to tell your dad abo-" Jade trailed off, looking at Ren. Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Tell me about what?" Ren leaned back in his chair with his arms folded. "Where are the cats? Did you two kill them?" He wore a worried look. The two girls in his opinion were not exactly the responsible type.

"What! Why does everyone assume that?" Kim shouted. Ren stood up, and stared them down with his arms folded over his chest.

"The cats we had were really people from a different dimension! One of them got turned back when Kim had to take him a bath because he got covered in orange paint, which he is still covered in! Then we turned them all back! Three of them are zombies! They even have super powers, and one of them has hands on his mouth! I mean mouths on his hands! Please don't kick me out! I don't want to be a HOBO! Even if I would be the hottest hobo to ever live!" Jade had cracked.

"Okay. WHAT!" Ren shouted. With that they went on to explain their very eventful day. They introduced Ren to the ninja, and they really hit it off. Ren was not like most fathers, that is why he was excited at the idea of having dimension jumpers in his house.

"So, how exactly are you guys going to get home," Ren questioned, taking a sip of beer. The ninja all shared a look. It was Nagato that answered.

"We're not exactly sure."

"You guys are going to need a place to stay." Ren mussed.

"Sir, we wouldn't want to impose," Itachi added, already having an idea of what the man was thinking while not wanting to sound ungrateful.

"Don't call me Sir, I'm not that old, and I don't mind." He sat up straighter. "I usually house some of the guys from the navy who really can't afford it or are just saving up for whatever. For the young single ones it seems pointless spend so much when they're just going to move again. The last girl left two months ago. So there's enough space for all of you." As an afterthought he added, "Though, I don't want any moochers in my house. If you're going to be living here, you have to support yourselves. I'll give you a place to stay, but you have to buy your own things, like Jade."

"That sounds reasonable," Kakashi stated, looking to the others for confirmation. They all agreed.

"Alright!" Kim stood gathering everyone's attention. "There's two rooms with two bunk beds each, meaning four beds in both rooms. The girls take one room and the guys take the other. Although the guys are gonna have to double up," Kim explained, and the ninja nodded.

"We can all go to the mall tomorrow, and search for jobs there," Jade suggested. "Well, I don't need one since I already have one. I think I could get Deidara a job with me."

"Kid you should get one too," Ren said to his daughter.

"What? Why?" She was confused. She already had a job, so why would she need to find one.

"I've been getting a lot of complaints about your work." That was a flat out lie. He had been receiving nothing but complements on her work. He would not have minded if the complements were from guys around her age. That would have been perfect for him, because she could date the guy, fall in love, get married, and give him grandchildren. Sadly the only men that ever visited the shop most likely already had grandchildren or children the same age or older than her. To him age was but a number, but his precious daughter was still only seventeen.

"Dad, did you just fire me?"

"Yes."

"You're doing the dishes tonight, then. Come on everyone I'll show you to your rooms," Kim motioned for everyone to follow after her. Kim and Jade showed them to the rooms. Which was really just a small hallway with three doors and the staircase leading up to the second floor. The guys took the bedroom to the left and the girls took the one to the right. The situated between the two bedrooms was the guest bathroom/laundry room.

Both bedrooms were set up the same way. Two bunk beds pushed up on either sides of the room, two wardrobes directly across from them, two shelves for extra storage, a mini fridge, and a second door directly across from the entrance that lead to the bathroom. Inside the bathroom besides the obvious was a double vanity and a large walk-in shower.

Kim walked to the kitchen to grab an after dinner snack.

"Kimberly, do the dishes!"

"I don't work for you anymore!" Kim ran to her room, and closed the door.

In the girls' room, things went smoothly. Hinata and Hana both preferred the bottom bunk while Sakura and Konan opted for the top. The girls took turns showering and changed into the clothes Kim and Jade had given them before calling it a night.

In the boys' room, things didn't go quite as smoothly. They had to trade bedmates a few times before anyone was happy, namely Deidara. At first it was Kakashi and Nagato, Deidara and Itachi, and Naruto and Sasuke. Deidara refused to share a bed with 'that weasel' as he called him. Then it was Nagato and Itachi, and Kakashi and Deidara. Deidara refused to sleep with the 'giggling pervert' as he dubbed him. Then Naruto and Sasuke got into an argument over the covers which nearly turned into a wrestling match, but only ended when Naruto fell to the floor. Finally, it was Kakashi and Naruto, Itachi and Sasuke, and Nagato and Deidara. Deidara had no more complaints fore he was too afraid of the Akatsuki leader. Then at 2:00 in the morning, it was decided that Kakashi was not allowed to read his orange book in the room at night.